Firstcoastnews.com U.S. and World News

Stand-your-ground law looms large

Sun, 27 May 2012 11:41:52 GMT

By now, the scene is familiar: Two men get into an altercation - one black, one Hispanic. One is armed with a handgun and shoots the other dead.

Female juror flirts with John Edwards

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:56:22 GMT

Since the alternates were identified last Thursday, it has been impossible to ignore the dynamic between Edwards and one of the female alternates, an attractive young woman with jet-black hair, who seems to have been flirting with Edwards for days.

Suspect in Etan Patz case awaits arraignment

Fri, 25 May 2012 14:19:38 GMT

NEW YORK -- On the eve of National Missing Children's Day, police said they'd at last cracked the case that started it - the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz.

Why America scourst he eart for its fallen soldiers

Fri, 25 May 2012 14:10:56 GMT

The fallen navigator waited until dawn to crawl from the jungle. His back was broken, his jaw ripped open by shrapnel. There was a bullet hole in his left leg.

Beer-guzzling cows crash backyard party

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:56:56 GMT

Cows on the loose in Boxford, Mass., crashed a backyard party last weekend, and went right for the beer.

Space station captures SpaceX Dragon capsule

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:27:17 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space station astronauts have captured the Dragon.

Tensions rise between U.S.A. and Pakistan

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:17:40 GMT

WASHINGTON -- A Senate panel expressed its outrage Thursday over Pakistan's conviction of a doctor who helped the United States track down Osama bin Laden, voting to cut aid to Islamabad by $33 million - $1 million for every year of the physician's 33-year sentence for high treason.

Facebook hack comes cloaked in ad form

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:08:15 GMT

LOS ANGELES -- Chad Sanders is originally from Tennessee, but he works in Los Angeles as a set dresser.

French president says Afghan mission completed

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:58:04 GMT

KABUL, Afghanistan -- France's new president said on Friday that his country's troops had carried out their mission in Afghanistan and that it was time for them to leave, an early pullout that will be coordinated with the United States and other allies.

New evidence possible in Manson Family murders

Fri, 25 May 2012 08:29:36 GMT

LOS ANGELES -- Eight hours of audio never before heard by law enforcement has been requested by the Los Angeles Police Department, and it could link followers of the Manson Family to unsolved murders.

Hurricane Bud weakens to Category 2 storm

Fri, 25 May 2012 07:51:51 GMT

MIAMI -- Hurricane Bud has weakened to a Category 2 storm in the Pacific as it approaches Mexico's coast.

Edwards Trial: Jury asks for 20 more exhibits; judge offers all docs

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:46:18 GMT

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- In what seemed to be another day ordinary day of deliberations in the John Edwards corruption trial, WFMY reporter Mark Geary tells us that shortly after lunch the jury made a request of the judge.

Romney promises unemployment down to 6% in 4 years

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:41:34 GMT

Mitt Romney said he would bring the unemployment rate down to 6% in four years if elected president, in an interview with Time magazine.

Real federal deficit dwarfs official tally

Thu, 24 May 2012 09:39:04 GMT

WASHINGTON -- The typical American household would have paid nearly all of its income in taxes last year to balance the budget if the government used standard accounting rules to compute the deficit, a USA TODAY analysis finds.

Swing states show dim view of Biden

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:39:49 GMT

Joe Biden may not be much help to Barack Obama in key swing states this fall.

American Heart Association: Tasers can cause death

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:36:58 GMT

CINCINNATI -- For the first time, amid continuing controversy and lawsuits over use of Tasers, a scientific, peer-reviewed study released this week shows the electronic stun guns can cause cardiac arrest and death.

Police: Man implicates himself in 1979 Etan Patz case

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:06:27 GMT

New York -- A man now in custody has implicated himself in the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz, Commissioner Ray Kelly of the New York Police Department said Thursday.

Fire on nuclear sub extinguished

Thu, 24 May 2012 07:22:02 GMT

Firefighters extinguished a blaze in a nuclear submarine early Thursday at a U.S. Navy shipyard in Maine after battling it for hours, according to a statement released by the shipyard.

Hurricane Bud picks up steam

Thu, 24 May 2012 07:19:38 GMT

Hurricane Bud quickly strengthened early Thursday after forming off the southwestern coast of Mexico just hours before, the National Hurricane Center in Miami reported.

Egyptians, many optimistic, vote in post-Mubarak election

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:50:58 GMT

CAIRO -- Sabet Mashed Mina voted for a president in Egypt's elections Wednesday for the first time in his life at 76 years old.